The pomegranate fruit is the fruit of a deciduous tree that is native to Israel, the Iranian Plateau and India. Introduced into Latin America and California by Spanish settlers in 1769, pomegranate is now cultivated in parts of California and Arizona for juice production.
The fruit consists of a rind containing seed casings or arils separated by a bitter pith membrane. The aril contains the fleshy part of the fruit that is eaten and the woody seed part that may be eaten but is often spat out.
Pomegranate aril juice provides about 16% of an adult's daily vitamin C requirement per 100 ml serving, and is a good source of vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), potassium and polyphenols, such as tannins and flavonoids. Pomegranates also have high-fiber due to the edible seeds which also supply unsaturated oils.
The most abundant polyphenols in pomegranate juice are the hydrolyzable tannins called ellagitannins formed when ellagic acid binds with a carbohydrate. Punicalagins are unique pomegranate tannins with free-radical scavenging that are absorbed into the human body and may have dietary value as antioxidants. Other phytochemicals include polyphenolic catechins, gallocatechins, and anthocyanins, such as prodelphinidins, delphinidin, cyanidin, and pelargonidin.
Pomegranate juice and seeds are widely used in dietary supplements and may reduce cardiovascular disease. Consumption of pomegranate juice has been shown to reduce systolic blood pressure by inhibiting serum angiotensin-converting enzyme. Juice consumption may also inhibit viral infections while pomegranate extracts have antibacterial effects against dental plaque. Preliminary in vitro research indicates that extracts of the fruit may inhibit the proliferation of human breast cancer cells.
Since pomegranate juice is easily released by the ripe aril, and stains clothes and hands, the problem of removing the arils from the rind is widely attributed as a main cause of pomegranates having low market penetration despite their antioxidant properties and other health benefits. It would, therefore, be useful to facilitate the extraction of pomegranate arils from the fruit without using the hands. The present invention is directed to means for so doing.